The Quest for Gluten-Free Food in the South

It’s almost the Fourth of July, and the tantalizing aroma of outdoor grilling is in the air. This is an appropriate time to feature Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar, where you can go for a taste of summer all year round. As an added bonus in this particular post, Bad Daddy’s has shared their GF Homemade Mustard Recipe (see below) in case you’d like to add a little of their flavor to your own backyard grill.

Where: Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar. The first Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar opened in Charlotte, NC in 2007, and now there are multiple locations throughout NC, SC, TN and CO. I visited the Birkdale Village (Huntersville, NC) location for breakfast, and the Raleigh location for lunch on separate days.

GF Menu: YES! It’s professionally printed, displayed in its own fancy folder, and very easy to read.

What I ate: For breakfast, I ordered the Average Joe. For lunch, I had a Basic Buffalo Burger with mozzarella & avocado, GF chips, and a GF bun.

How to order it: Bad Daddy’s makes ordering Gluten-Free easy. Just ask for the GF menu, make your selection, and tell the server what you would like. (As a general rule, it always helps to remind servers that you are ordering from the gluten-free menu.) When ordering a burger, you can opt to have it on a GF bun (for $1.50 extra) or in a lettuce wrap.

Currently, they offer two GF beers – Omission Pale Ale and Omission Lager. According to the Omission website, these “handcrafted beers are made from barley, hops,
water and yeast, brewed using a proprietary process to remove gluten.”

Here is Bad Daddy’s allergen-related legal disclaimer from their menu:

This menu and the information on it are provided as a service to our customers. Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar goes to tremendous strides to identify all forms of gluten and gluten derivatives in the foods we purchase or prepare in house. However, we cannot be responsible for individual reactions to any food products or guarantee that the food we serve is free from any allergen. Our wait staff and cooks are not professional trained on the intricacies of Celiac Disease or gluten intolerance and cannot be expected to provide recommendations or other advice on this issue, but have taken necessary precautions to provide you with a gluten-free meal and will attempt to accommodate your individual requests. This menu, in no way should be considered medical advice. Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar disclaims all responsibility related to the use of this information. If you have any questions regarding particular foods that cause allergic reactions, these should be discussed with your physician.

What it looks like:

The Average Joe is in no way “average”. This hearty breakfast platter comes with three eggs (prepared to your preference); your choice of bacon, sausage, or ham; breakfast potatoes or fresh fruit; and a gluten-free bun. Their lightly grilled GF hamburger bun at breakfast was so surprisingly delicious, I asked the server what brand they are using. She checked with the kitchen and shared that they serve Farm Mountain Gluten-Free Buns (from the company European Bakers). I enjoyed slathering this with butter and jam.

Get a load of this Basic Burger – also a misnomer. It was anything but basic! I opted for the 6oz. buffalo burger patty, fresh mozzarella cheese, avocado slices, and Cape Cod Original potato chips (according to their website, these are allergen-free!) with sides of Bad Daddy’s house-made mustard (see recipe below) and pickles.

This was an incredible burger-eating experience from start to finish. The textures and tastes of these ingredients all melded together so nicely. This could easily become my favorite, but there are still so many more variations of burgers and GF premium toppings to try at Bad Daddy’s.

Makes 3.5 quarts (can be halved, and will store in refrigerator for many months)

4 cups yellow mustard seed

1 quart white wine vinegar

1 quart Paul Masson Chablis

13 Tbsp maple syrup

13 tsp turmeric spice

6 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Mix all the ingredients together except for the mustard seed. Once it is mixed, add the mustard seeds. Mix that together well and then refrigerate overnight. The next day, purée the mix in a blender until smooth.

At Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar, we are committed to sourcing local and fresh ingredients whenever possible, and supporting nearby businesses with interests in the local culinary marketplace, like our extensive selection of craft beers and regional spirits.

So whether it’s an award-winning craft beer we have on tap or ingredients for our burgers and salads that we grab fresh from local farms, there’s always a part of the Bad Daddy’s experience that’s local and real for the communities we do business in.

GF Menu: Yes! The entire menu is Gluten-Free, with the exception of a handful of drinks served only at the bar in designated glasses. On the evening I visited the restaurant, there were four GF beers on the menu, as well as local hard ciders.

What I ate: Wood-fired shrimp as a starter, grilled salmon and a side of curried cauliflower as the entree, and lemon pound cake and chocolate flourless torte for dessert.

How to order it: Select any food on the menu and order with confidence. The server explained that everything that goes into and comes out of the kitchen is 100% gluten-free.

Just think of it. Dishes and glassware are all dedicated gluten-free (with the exception of the aforementioned small set of glasses held only at the bar for the purpose of serving non-gluten-free beers).

At Primal we take gluten sensitivities seriously, and representing the needs of the gluten-free community is very important to us. Simply put, it is part of our identity, and it is exactly what makes us different from everyone else. Our kitchen is 100% gluten-free, meaning there is no possibility of cross-contamination.

What it looks like:

The wood-fired shrimp were seasoned with a maple bourbon bbq sauce, hot out of the wood-burning oven, and bursting with sweet and smoky flavors. The spicy cole slaw comprised of crisp cabbage, red onions, and green peppers complemented the sweet shrimp.

The curried cauliflower was served in an oven-proof pottery bowl, which kept it warm as we ate.

Trust me when I tell you that this grilled salmon was gorgeous. If you’re wondering what was so generously heaped on top of the hot-off-the-wood-grill-salmon, it was lump crab meat! It was a scrumptious, decadent addition to the savory salmon and the fresh greens drizzled with an apple shallot relish.

We ordered two desserts to share. An unusually moist lemony pound cake with its browned burnt-sugary edge rested on mascarpone and was topped with a rum-date compote, almonds, vanilla syrup, and a fresh mint leaf.

The second dessert was the chocolate flourless torte. Rich and smooth, each dark chocolatey bite contained the surprise flavor of caramel rising to the surface from the caramel crème anglaise underneath. It was garnished with a fresh strawberry, red grapes, whipped cream, and a mint leaf.

Primal is about getting back to the basics and eating as our ancestors did, offering unprocessed, home grown foods, served unpretentiously. You can literally taste the delicious difference when you bite into a piece of pasture-raised meat that was cooked over a wood fire. It gives the meat that light, smoky natural flavor simply not found with alternative cooking methods. At Primal, we work tirelessly to ensure that everything coming out of our kitchen showcases the fresh ingredients we are using from our local farmer partners. Farm-to-Fire-to-Fork. That is our way. That is Primal.

How to order it: The menu is clearly marked with “GF” next to appropriate items. The daily specials are written on a chalkboard. If it is not clear what items are GF, be sure to ask the staff for their GF recommendations when you place your order at the counter.

When looking at the menu, you might be surprised that the collards are not marked gluten-free. The day we visited, the cashier said the collards are not GF because a bit of beer-braised pork is added to the collards for flavor.

The “sprouts & shrooms” are also not marked GF. This is due to the fact that the brussels sprouts are flash-fried in the same fryer as the hush puppies. Good to know.

If they haven’t run out of it by the time you place your order, the GF sandwich bread comes from my absolute favorite GF baker, Dave Gardner, at Imagine That! Gluten Free Bakery.

Dave is based in Durham. I buy his GF bread (flax seed, cinnamon raisin, pumpernickel, among others) at the Carrboro Farmer’s Market. He produces the best GF bread and pizza crusts I have tasted anywhere.

What it looks like:

This NC hickory-smoked BBQ was warm, smoky, and spicy without being overwhelmed by vinegar. It had that fresh red pepper kick that builds pleasantly on your tongue and lips.

Created with finely chopped cabbage, impossibly tiny carrot shreds, and fresh celery seeds, this cole slaw was sophisticated, but not too sweet.

The potato salad consisted of small, red-skinned potatoes that were cooked just right, a very light mayonnaise sauce, and fresh paprika.

I am not a sweet pickle fan, but I could possibly be converted by these subtly sweet pickles from The Pig. I plan to return soon specifically to order their Pickle Plate (GF).

Here’s a photo of mom’s sandwich, which I also sampled. Hickory-smoked BBQ pork was piled high and topped with a layer of slaw on toasted GF bread from Imagine That! Gluten Free, of Durham.

Green Note: Chef and owner Sam Suchoff, who formerly worked at Lantern, Neals’ Deli, and the Barbecue Joint, carefully selects local antibiotic-and-hormone-free meats to serve in his restaurant.

He prepares locally-sourced meats such as sausages, bologna, and bacon for customers to purchase by the pound and take home. He also sells his homemade “hog dogs” at the Carrboro Farmer’s Market.

BBQ and ham for sale at the Carrboro Farmers Market.

Sam at his post at the Carrboro Farmer’s Market. This was a rare moment of quiet. Though it was 10am, his table was already being flooded with eager customers purchasing ham, bbq, and “hog dogs” to either eat on the spot or take home.

GF Menu: Yes! You can view the Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner with a multitude of delicious GF options on their website. You can order a GF omelet with a side of GF toast for breakfast. At lunch, there are GF pizzas, salads, and sandwich options with GF bread. The dinner menu changes daily, but one standard you can always rely on is the GF pan-seared fish with risotto and asparagus.

What I ate: GF pan-seared fish with veggies.

How to order it: The online menu is clearly marked with [GF] next to appropriate items. The daily menu is written on a chalkboard. If it is not clear what items are GF, be sure to ask the staff for their GF recommendations at the counter where you place your order. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable foodies, so will help guide you in the right direction.

What it looks like:

North Carolina fish was placed atop sauteed local vegetables in this dish. This pan-seared fish had a soft interior and crispy exterior, and just the right amount of umami flavor. The supporting zucchini, yellow squash, onions, and tomatoes provided textural contrast, color, and the organic taste of local farms.You can purchase goods from the in-store market for dessert, or find GF baked goods like these individually-wrapped GF chocolate chip cookies at the counter.

Green Note: The Saxapahaw General Store is housed in a re-purposed gas station and convenience store (see pic by clicking here).

Chefs Jeff Barney and Cameron Ratcliffe operate their business with a conscious decision to celebrate what is local, promote sustainability, and make good food and products accessible to the community. This page describes their mission:

“They wanted to be stewards of local foods, good wine and beer, nutritious snacks, and eco-conscious dry goods, and they hoped to participate in a new kind of local economy that would strengthen fellow small businesses, promote conscious farming, and become part of a network of small communities finding a better way to live and to do business together.”

This sign posted above the trash can encouraged us to leave food scraps on our plate rather than throwing them in the trash. The staff will compost these scraps or help feed chickens at Cozi Farms.

A note on their Home page lets you know how the chefs support local farms:

“We are proud to source most of our meats, all of our eggs, and all the local produce we can find each season, from farms right here in the NC Piedmont. Click for a listing of our most current local farm goods. For a full listing of locally sourced items we offer for retail or through our kitchen, visit our Purveyors page.”

These store shelves are stocked with an bountiful array of NC products. Doesn’t it make you proud?

GF Menu: Yes. Though items are not currently marked on the menu posted on their website, they are clearly noted with gluten-free symbols on dine-in menu.

When I contacted Acme about their gluten-free options, the General Manager, Stephen Murtaugh, offered these important clarifying notes:

The icon on our menu is meant primarily for those pursuing a gluten free style diet. Anyone with allergies, or celiac disease, should make that clear to their server when they order to avoid the risk of cross contamination. Certain items, like French fries, come in contact with some flour when fried since we also fry dredged items in the same fryer.

If a guest gives us advance notice of their food allergies by calling ahead and noting on their reservation then we will usually call them ahead of time to discuss their dinner and make sure they get something absolutely delicious and 100% safe for them to consume.

What I ate: Salmon Entree with an appetizer of Gluten-Free Cornbread

How to order it: The Acme menu changes regularly since the Chef/Owner Kevin Callaghan creates daily offerings from seasonal and local ingredients. Look for the GF symbol next to the menu items. As the General Manager suggests, let your server know you are dining gluten-free for health reasons. Acme also offers you the courtesy option of calling ahead to discuss your gluten-free dining needs in advance of your visit.

What it looks like:

A pan-seared, spice rubbed salmon filet was the centerpiece of this dish. The chef cooked this fish perfectly, preserving the sweet tenderness of the meat inside while presenting a picante crispness on the outside. Garnished with a green sauce and fresh cilantro leaves, it was simultaneously light, yet satisfyingly savory. Black beans, gluten-free creamed corn grits, and a fresh tomato completed the dish.

The GF cornbread arrived at the table piping hot in a shallow cast iron skillet, which kept the bread warm well into our meal. Acme uses a gluten-free cornmeal in their house cornbread recipe. GM Stephen Murtaugh also informed me that these skillets are used only for the gluten-free cornbread to avoid risk of cross-contamination.

This cornbread was thick and fluffy, but not dense. It was flavorful, but not overly sweet. The texture was more like bread than cake. It had a lovely brown top and crispy edges.

The huge cloud of butter and the fresh-cracked pepper rounded out the presentation.

Finding an establishment that offers any kind of GF bread is a treat. I was over-the-moon to discover this freshly-made and down-home delicious cornbread at Acme.

Green Note: Acme supports the local community’s sustainable agriculture as well as helps sponsor cultural and educational programming in the area. The following is taken from their website under the “Local” tab:

How to order it: Ask for the Gluten-Free menu. The list of available GF pizzas is long. I counted fifteen, including a classic pepperoni. (FYI, did you know that not all pepperoni is gluten-free? Brixx has us covered, though. The chefs use Hormel’s GF pepperoni.)

Since each of the pizzas on this list can be cooked to order as regular or gluten-free, be sure to remind your server that you want the gluten-free version when you place your order.

The GF menu offers the following information:

We’re proud to offer options for those on gluten-free diets by necessity or choice.Please let your server know of any dietary restrictions you have or if you would like additional information about our gluten-free kitchen procedures and ingredients (updated 5/12/14).

At the bottom of this menu, they go on to describe in meticulous detail the careful process with which they handle GF pizzas in their kitchen. Their website also states:

At Brixx, we we’re all about equality. So, we’re proud to offer all of our pizzas on gluten-free dough for an additional $2. While our pizzas aren’t created in a completely gluten-free environment, each gluten-free pizza is prepared and cooked in its own container. Here’s a link to an ingredient sheet on our gluten-free dough.

Though I didn’t order one when I visited, every Brixx location carries at least one GF bottled beer. On the GF menu, they encourage you to “ask your neighborhood location about their latest gluten-free brew or make a suggestion!”

What it looks like:

This pizza arrived hot out of the oven on its own thin metal pie pan (used to avoid cross contamination in the wood brick oven). It featured sliced roma tomatoes, mozzarella, kalamata olives, red onions, and feta cheese topped with fresh basil and a balsamic glaze drizzle.

I’m pleased to report that this pizza passed the eat-with-my-hands test! When I picked up a slice, this thin and surprisingly crunchy crust stayed firm, supporting the fresh ingredients. The slices never became soggy, but stayed crisp and light. This is one of the better GF pizza crusts I have tasted. It was crispy, buttery-tasting, and more salty than sweet, as a pizza crust should be, with the hint of woody smokiness only achieved in a wood-burning brick oven.

Green Note: The Chapel Hill Brixx location offers reusable carry-out bags for $1, encouraging us to “buy a bag for two great causes: save the planet and get a nifty reusable bag.” Why carry your own bag? A statistic on igotmybag.org tells us: “Each year the United States consumes 30 billion plastic and 10 billion paper grocery bags, requiring 14 million trees and 12 million barrels of oil.”

“Just because you are gluten free doesn’t mean you should have to do without a delicious pastry. We aspire to make all of our gluten free desserts as delicious as their gluten counterparts. We’d like to think that if you weren’t gluten free and you tasted one of our gluten free treats, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference.”

What I ate: From the lunch menu, I ordered Celeriac soup with a GF biscuit on the side. Afterward, I purchased two GF “Chocolate Fix” and two GF Red Velvet cupcakes to take home.

How to order it: You’ll find daily menus on the chalkboards. Also, look for the “Gluten-Free” labels inside the baked goods case.

As always, ask the knowledgeable servers whether an item is GF. For example, when I asked whether the soup was Gluten-Free, the server answered “yes”, and then also explained that they had fresh Gluten-Free biscuits to go with it.

What it looks like:

This Celeriac (root vegetable) soup had a light broth and was garnished with green onions. The accompanying GF biscuit was an unexpected treat, as it was fresh, buttery, warmed, and perfect for dipping in the soup.

The primary reason I went to DaisyCakes was for the GF cupcakes. A friend of mine had ordered DaisyCakes’ GF cupcakes to serve at her toddler’s birthday party. These sweet treats were a real hit.

Both the “Chocolate Fix” cake and the Red Velvet cake were moist and soft. Due to DaisyCakes’ own special GF flour blend (Equal Measure: One-for-One Gluten-Free Flour Mix), these cupcakes tasted like cake is supposed to taste! The icings were not too sweet, and they accented these cupcakes perfectly.

DaisyCakes also supports local community by hosting “Dessert Room”, a pastry and dessert treat event on Friday and Saturday evenings until 9pm, during which a percentage of proceeds will be donated to a non-profit organization in Durham. The last time I checked online, six out of the eight offerings at Dessert Room were Gluten-Free.

This Elsa Schiaparelli quote is stenciled over the kitchen window in DaisyCakes Cafe: “A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness.” I happen to agree, especially when the cook bakes Gluten-Free.

GF Menu: No. However, the menu instructs, “Please let us know about any food allergies.”

What we ate: Local heirloom tomato salad and spicy carrot soup for appetizers, Flounder and Salmon for entrees, and Panna Cotta for dessert.

How to order it: Lantern is famous for fusing Asian flavors with North Carolina ingredients. The Lantern menu does an excellent job of listing ingredients, but since it is not marked specifically for food allergies, let your server know that you will be dining Gluten-Free, and ask for their recommendations.

Our server checked with the kitchen and marked our paper menu with all Gluten-Free options, acknowledging when and if soy sauce was used in a dish, to alleviate concerns we might have had about sauces. We had more than a dozen choices.

What it looks like:

This appetizer was art on a plate. Local heirloom tomatoes were drizzled with fine olive oil, then topped with shiso leaf, shallots, sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper.

This summer carrot soup was served chilled, but it was warm with the exotic flavors of vadouvan curry.

The server asked whether I was comfortable with the whole fish being presented on the plate, and explained that some customers will request that the head be removed. Fresh and crispy NC flounder was served in the style of a Vietnamese fish dish.

Here’s the closeup of the fish. On top of the tender white meat and delicately fried fish skin were hot chiles, fresh turmeric, dill, fried shallots, the occasional cilantro leaf, and roasted peanuts. This is one of the best fish dishes I have ever eaten, and according to our server, it is their most popular.

The flounder came with a side of spicy heirloom carrot salad and a scoop of warm jasmine rice.

The steamed wild King salmon was served with house-pickled ginger, lemongrass, red onion, cucumber-mint salad, and a side of warm coconut jasmine rice.

There were two gluten-free dessert options the night we visited. I was delighted with our choice of the cherry stone panna cotta. A cool and impossibly delicate panna cotta was garnished with Blue Ridge Mountain cherries and crunchy almond-sesame candy. Warning: you will not want to share this, so go ahead and get your own.

Green Note: Chef Andrea Reusing is a local luminary and a national leader in culinary sustainability.

When you dine at Catch, you are in for an exquisite culinary experience because Chef Keith Rhodes was named the 2011 Best Chef of the Southeast, he was a NC James Beard Semifinalist, and has been on Top Chef.

Gwyneth Paltrow visited Catch in July 2012 for a cooking lesson with Keith Rhodes. To read about her experience and see more photos, visit her curated site called “goop”. She also gave kudos to Catch’s “mixologist”, Richard Watson, who whipped up a Cucumber Tequila Cocktail for her.

GF Menu: No.

What we ate: Pan-Roasted NC Black Sea Bass Filet from the Daily Menu and Pan-Roasted Organic Salmon from the Regular Menu

How to order it: We appreciated the descriptive list of ingredients on the menu at Catch. The menu also helpfully notes, “All food is prepared to order”.

Let your server know that you will be dining Gluten-Free. The servers at Catch are very accommodating and want to help you find something both safe and delicious.

We checked with our server to make sure that the salmon dish could be made with a Gluten-Free soy sauce for the glaze. She assured us that the chef could make this dish gluten-free after she confirmed with the kitchen.

What it looks like:

This scrumptious black sea bass was pan-roasted and draped over a bed of rice noodles, shitake mushrooms, and Shanghai Bok Choy. The gorgeous sauce was a coconut-blue crab fumet. The chef garnished it with a hearty dollop of lemon verbena pesto, fresh cilantro, and thai basil.

(Our table was candlelit, so I couldn’t capture as much detail as I had hoped in this photo.) Tender inside, with a pan-roasted crispiness on the outside, this was salmon prepared at its best. Here, the rice noodles were combined with stir-fried organic vegetables and a soy sauce chili glaze. This dish was garnished with toasted sesame seeds and fresh cilantro.

Green Note: Catch is doing everything right.

Chef Keith Rhodes and his wife, Angela, recognize the value of buying organic and local. Their website explains: “By striving to support North Carolina’s organic farmers, local fisheries and sustainable fishing practices, our customers help stimulate the local economy.”

In addition to his second popular restaurant called Phun Seafood Bar, located on Princess Street in Wilmington, Keith Rhodes has launched the Catch Food Truck this year. Follow this fresh, local, organic food truck featuring California and Mexican Street Food here: http://www.catchthefoodtruck.com/. The food truck website boasts: “Catch food truck uses eco friendly packaging and NC soybean oil for frying. We also recycle the cooking oil to produce bio diesel.”

What I ate: Sopa Seca Picosa (Spicy Mexican Lasagna) from the Dinner Menu + House Sangria

How to order it: Refer to the menu markings of “GF” for Gluten-Free when making your selection. Additionally, let the server know you are dining Gluten-Free.

The menus also indicate “V” for Vegetarian and “VV” for Vegan. As Margaret explains on the About Us page of the restaurant website: “Because my dishes are made in-house from wholesome ingredients, you can make pleasurable and healthy choices, no matter your preferences.” With food that is cooked-to-order, you CAN have it all!

What it looks like:

Think you can’t have lasagna in a restaurant because you dine Gluten-Free? Think again! This spicy Mexican “lasagna” may be my new go-to comfort food. In this dish, corn tortilla chips are layered with cheese, your choice of chicken or black beans, and spicy salsa. The whole dish is then baked, and finally topped with additional salsa, lettuce, tomato, and sour cream. The result is packed with texture and flavor. The chips and black beans still maintain their freshness and integrity despite being smothered in melted cheese and salsa.

Here’s the close-up. This was a very generous helping. I took some of it home and enjoyed it right from the fridge the next day. You gotta love a dish that is fantastic both hot and cold! It’ll be good to revisit year-round.

Green Note: Margaret is committed to using local, seasonal, and organic produce, whenever possible, and she has been doing so for twenty years. She explains on the website, where she lists some of her local suppliers:

Long before locavore entered the lexicon, I was buying organic produce from farmers like the legendary Bill Dow of Chatham County. Today I still work with Bill and other growers, among them Rose & Mark Lyon, Jan Mann & Tom Jackson, Bill & Joanna Lelekacs and Lisa & David Pope. I’ve been a member of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association for years and I also purchase produce from Eastern Carolina Organics, a farmers’ co-op. “The Egg Man,” Gerald Hall of Pleasant Garden, NC, brings me fresh brown eggs from his free-range chickens.

I use organic brown rice and black beans and locally milled organic flour. North Carolina is represented year round on my “South meets Southwest” menu in the form of sweet potatoes, grits and greens. Seasonal produce includes asparagus, strawberries, blueberries, apples, tomatoes, tomatillos, chiles, salad greens and shiitake mushrooms… the list goes on!

And speaking of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, this weekend is the 19th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour! Saturday, April 26th and Sunday, April 27th, 2014 from 2-6pm both days, rain or shine. You can visit more than 30 local and organic farms in the Triangle area, meet the farmers, and tour the farms. Support your local food systems. Oh, yeah, and take some charming photographs of baby goats.

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Disclaimer

The content of this site is based on my personal experience and is not meant to take the place of the advice of a licensed professional or medical doctor. People have varying and unique responses to food allergies. Please take the necessary precautions when dining.